jail time—but she would be doing the right thing rather than just going through the motions to live the life assigned to her by the regulations of Earth Gov.
Charlie wasn’t surprised to see Jace and Ben waiting for her at her door, their eyes burning with curiosity. Field hands got off shift long before she did. Jace leaned against her door with a friendly smile in greeting.
“Hey, Charlie, we were pretty surprised to get your message. Meeting in your quarters, huh? That bed is pretty small for all of us to squeeze into and I’m not sure how Doug is going to feel about the whole group sex thing, but we’re game for anything.”
“We are not having sex, pervert.” Charlie laughed as she scanned into her quarters. “Hurry up and get inside. We’ll talk once everyone arrives.”
“Spoilsport,” Ben murmured.
She chuckled and stepped inside as Jace and Ben let out identical disappointed sighs and followed her into her room. Glancing back at them, she couldn’t help but to notice that, despite their usual cheer, the twins seemed thinner and paler. They looked sick. How did that happen so fast?
If they took note of her concern, they ignored it. Ben immediately squeezed around her to plop down on her bed while Jace raided the basket that held her only luxuries: a collection of snacks. She admittedly had a sweet tooth, and figured her few extra credits were best spent on acquiring snacks in surplus for her quarters to get the most enjoyment as possible from her wages.
“Not that one!” she hollered as he pulled out the silvery biodegradable packaging of a Three Musketeers candy bar.
Charlie tore it out of his hands and slapped a Snickers into his palm. She hated Snickers bars, but the candy always came in an assortment. She held onto it for just such an occasion if she was required to feed one of the fiends. Jace shrugged and eagerly tore into it. He hadn’t finished eating it when he started rummaging for another. She pointed a finger at him with a hard scowl that had him pausing mid-dig.
“Only the Snickers,” she said firmly.
“Can I have all of them?” he asked around a mouthful of candy.
She wasn’t the only one with a passion for sweets. Judging by the way Ben shuddered, it wasn’t a shared sentiment between the brothers. No doubt the other brother had dealt with more than one sugar high from his twin. She grinned at him as she answered Jace.
“Knock yourself out.”
His grin was instant and wide seconds before he began to rummage through the basket looking for the offered sweets.
Ben glanced at her as he flicked through the vid feed channels. “So, what are we here for, anyway, since we’re not getting frisky? I mean, I might have thought that you were playing coy, but not only is that not a move you employ, you’ve just allowed him access to enough candy to make him puke. I doubt you’re planning on having him jiggling anywhere near you anytime soon.”
“Har, har, har,” Jace fake laughed, scowling at his twin as he popped another mini Snickers into his mouth.
“I promise I’ll tell you as soon as Mia and Doug arrive.”
She glanced again at her comm and relaxed when she saw a message pop up from Doug. They were on their way. Although she was certain that all her friends could find a useful way to contribute, Mia had the information she desperately needed.
“I hate waiting,” Jace mumbled around the chocolate and nougat. Ben nodded as he tried not to look at him.
She didn’t blame him. The half-masticated bits of sticky candy as he tried to talk and chew weren’t attractive. The air thickened with the smell of chocolate and peanuts. Charlie’s stomach turned, already in knots with climbing nerves. She couldn’t relax until she heard the door comm chime. She rushed past Jace and placed her hand against the internal panel to admit the last of their party.
Doug winced as he squeezed in reluctantly, pulling Mia behind him. Doug looked nearly as bad as Jace and Ben. Only Mia seemed to be unaffected, like Charlie. Looking among them, she pursed her lips.
“Guys, what the hell is going on? You look like shit warmed over on a shadeless day in June.”
Doug groaned. “Sounds about right. Never mind about us. We’re managing just as non-gratas always have. Something has to swing around soon,” he said as his voice dissolved into a hacking cough.